Not that it's much of a surprise, but the Twins have officially released reliever Joel Zumaya.
Minnesota signed him to a major-league contract, but he'll receive just $400,000 of the $850,000 he signed because he didn't make the opening-day roster.
Zumaya, 27, recently elected to undergo Tommy John surgery and attempt yet another comeback after he was diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament on Feb. 25. He's scheduled to have the surgery sometime this month and the Twins will have to pay for that.
The former Tiger fire-baller has been plagued by injuries since his big rookie season in 2006. He missed 96 games in 2007 with a finger injury, 72 in 2008 with a shoulder injury and 41 games in 2008 with another shoulder injury. He hasn't pitched in a game since fracturing his elbow while pitching for the Tigers on June 28, 2010.
Still, the prospect of a 100 mph-plus fastball kept the Tigers and the Twins interested. No doubt someone will sign him up next year after his rehab, but it's unlikely he'll get another big-league deal until he proves he can get on the mound.
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